my peeps (amnesty international usa - aiusa) has won a landmark victory in the u.s. district court for the eastern district of new york that affirms the organization's right to protect its confidential sources and investigative research under the federal journalist's privilege...can i hear an amen!
the ruling, by u.s. magistrate udge viktor v. pohorelsky, occurred in pending litigation brought by attorneys of the legal aid society of new york (lasny) against former officials of the metropolitan detention center in brooklyn (mdc)...
wallace neel, an attorney for reed smith llp, who represented aiusa on a pro bono basis with elizabeth abrams, also of the reed smith firm, said the ruling represents the first time that a u.s. court has recognized amnesty international's ability to protect the sources of its information...
the legal aid society alleged that the prison officials monitored confidential communications between lasny attorneys and their clients, who had been incarcerated in the wake of the sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks...
in response, detention officials asserted that the legal aid society attorneys knew, or should have known, of any monitoring...the mdc attorneys then sought to obtain information from amnesty international, a non-party, regarding the results of confidential interviews that aiusa had conducted with various sources regarding the conditions at the mdc...
explained rachel ward, director of research for aiusa:
"Amnesty International USA is gratified that a federal court has affirmed the organization's right to protect confidential sources and research by asserting the journalist's privilege under federal law. We are also grateful to Reed Smith for its work on this case. As an international human rights organization, Amnesty International works with people around the world who risk their safety and sometimes their lives to expose human right abuses. It is critically important that they are able to speak to Amnesty International in confidence. Anything less impacts our ability to expose and combat abuses of human rights."
reed smith attorney wallace neel added:
"This ruling will greatly aid Amnesty International in its mission to expose human rights violations, because Amnesty's sources are often the direct victims of those violations. Victims cannot always safely come forward unless their confidentiality can be protected."
and finally his colleague racel ward close with:
"In this ruling, the court soundly rejected a vigorous challenge to Amnesty International's entitlement to the protections of this important First Amendment-based privilege."
peace out <3
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